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[32]
It is more important for our purpose to note that
arguments may be drawn from similar, opposite, and
dissimilar points of law. As an example of the first,
take the following passage from the Topica of
Cicero,1 where he argues that a man to whom the
usufruct of a house has been left will not restore it
in the interests of the heir if it collapses; just as
lie would not replace a slave if he should die. The
following will provide an example of an argument
drawn from opposite points of law: “The absence
of a formal contract is no bar to the legality of
a marriage, provided the parties cohabit by mutual
consent, since the signing of a formal document will
count for nothing in the absence of such mutual
consent.” An instance of an argument drawn from
dissimilar points of law occurs in the pro Caecina of
Cicero2:

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